Not Alone In the End
by Good Morning and Good Night
Summary: The villain this time was too strong and somebody has to make the sacrifice play. And while death can be an option, there isn't a choice this time.


**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or realities (unless otherwise stated). I do not make money off of this.**

 **The prompt for this come from an anonymous avengerkink dreamwidth post.**

 **Major Character Death**

 **Like, super major.**

 **This is not betaed. If you see any mistakes, I would love for you to** ** _kindly_** **point them out.**

This was it, his final moment, his last breaths and ending words. And… he was alone. Just like so many other people had told him he would. Tony knew he was dying. He could feel it in his heart. The one that so many others had stated with evidence and proof that he did not have. He wasn't dying because of the reactor, no, it was a villain too strong, a sacrifice that had to be made. And he did it. The Avengers did it.

But now he was buried underneath six feet of bad ideas and rubble. Slowly bleeding out from several hundred miniscule cuts along his body and a giant hit against his leg. It had been a sacrifice play so that his teammates teammates. What an odd word could defeat the… thing and keep protecting the world because no matter what Tony tried to tell himself, he was still selfish and occasionally cruel and unforgiving and almost always unable to find real friends without them stumbling upon him.

But he was dying without anybody, very slowly, without a way to kill himself or staunch the flow or do anything, anything to either live longer or die quicker. Luckily his helmet was still online, if too deep to connect to any of the avengers.

"Sir? Please don't close your eyes. Stay awake, you have a concussion and it will do no good for it if you fall asleep."

Tony smiled lethargically. "Hey Jarvis. I don't think I'm going to make it. My leg's bleeding out and the suit is surrounded by giant pieces of stone so I can't get it off to do… something."

Jarvis replied quickly. "Sir, you can't just give up now, you have to stay awake. You have to. You promised Pepper and Rhodey and Steve and the rest of the Avengers, even Dummy and You and Butterfingers!" He sounded a little bit frantic, and to Tony's addled mind, more human. It was comforting to know that perhaps one day his children, his bots would one day perhaps be human, be something more than the metal and electronic shells he created for them.

"Yeah," he smiled softly, sadly, tiredly. "Tell them I'm sorry, Jarvis."

In Tony's mind, Jarvis sighed and slumped his shoulders a little, caving in to the understanding that no matter what happened, Tony was going to die. His own creator was going to die. "Sir…" he began hesitantly, picking his head up a little bit. "may I ask you a question?"

"Sure…" whispered Tony, already tired and incapable of even twitching a finger. "Ask away." He coughed up a laugh, quickly quieting so that he could answer his bot's (son's) question.

"I wanted to know this from you because it seems so personal, but who was I named after?" The question was soft and quiet and still a little hopeful that his creator (father) would live, would tinker more and more and laugh like winter cheer and sob like summer rainstorms. It was a good hope, a nice hope, and Tony felt bad about dying, but shifted minutely to tell him.

"You were named after Edwin Jarvis, one of the greatest men that I knew. He was like my father, I guess. He was more like my father than Howard ever was." He smiled at the memory, eyes already closed and drifting and his body relaxing from the loss of blood and oxygen.

Jarvis spoke again. "Thank you."

Tony quirked his lip a millimeter and mouthed out the words, "You're welcome."

As his mind faded from one world to go the next, whatever was to happen there, he felt like he heard the sounds of shouting and struggled to pull on memories of who they were, just for a second.

 _Pepper yelling 'TONY!' and tears streaming down her stubborn face._

 _Steve with no words but sheer determination as he pulled at rocks in his way._

 _Natasha(lie) with no emotions but a single tear in her eyes as she tried to find the safest way down._

 _Clint, standing on the side, eyes wide and scared like they hadn't been for ages and feeling like maybe he could do something but he can't._

 _Brucie and Hulk ripping apart the stones above him, screeching a song of pain of desolation and hope and everything and Tony felt bad that he never really understood this creature of more than rage and pain._

He brought up the painful muscles and strength and last bit of life left in his beaten broken soul and gave them all a smile. And then turned around and disappeared from the mortal world.


End file.
